Patients have new resource with The University of Kansas Cancer Center Survivorship Transition Clinic

Patients have new resource with The University of Kansas Cancer Center Survivorship Transition Clinic

The University of Kansas Cancer Center Survivorship Transition Clinic opened Nov. 6 as one of only six such adult care clinics in the country to address long-term health issues in survivors of childhood cancer. The clinic is located in The University of Kansas Physicians Medical Office Building on the University of Kansas Medical Center campus.

The Survivorship Transition Clinic was developed by Midwest Cancer Alliance (MCA), the outreach arm of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, in partnership with Children's Mercy, to address long-term health issues in adult survivors of childhood cancer. It is a companion program to the pediatric Survive & Thrive program at Children's Mercy and is open to patients 18 and older.

According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 80 percent of children live at least five years after a cancer diagnosis. Health authorities estimate that there are currently close to 400,000 in the United States who have survived childhood cancer and the number keeps growing. But survivors are at high risk for late effects, which may include of secondary cancers, fertility issues, cardiovascular disease and endocrine problems due to medication side effects, weakened immune systems and other issues.

According to Lowry, another factor that makes follow-up appointments like these so critical is a phenomenon unofficially known as 'falling off the medical map'. Dr. Lowry explains that when we are in our 'invincible' twenties and thirties many of us are not regularly seeking medical care, which can increase complications for high risk patients like cancer survivors.

The Survivorship Transition Clinic nurse navigator, Kyla Alsman, R.N., has nine years of experience as a pediatric oncology nurse at Children's Mercy. As navigator she helps survivors of childhood cancer who are 18 and older transition to adult care at KU Medical Center, in collaboration with each patient's primary care provider.

There is a wide range of ages in the growing number of patients being seen in the new clinic.

"We have patients in their 50s as well as young adults who are college age and were seen in within the past year or two in a children's hospital or clinic," says Alsman.

Morgan Simpson, a six-year survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, received her initial treatment at Children's Mercy but will soon switch her care to the Survivorship Transition Clinic The team there will track of her adult health care records, monitor her long-term risk issues during yearly follow-up visits, provide educational materials and referrals and share the results with her primary care physician.

"I was in high school when I was diagnosed but, now that I'm 21, I know it's time to start getting my care in an adult setting that is familiar with my health issues," says Simpson. "It's a big help to have a clinic like this where it's easy to make the switch."

As Joy Fulbright, M.D., medical director of Survive & Thrive at Children's Mercy explains, "Transitioning from pediatric to adult care is stressful for survivors and their families from pediatric to adult care. When we discuss the new Survivorship Transition Clinic with families you can just see the relief in their faces."